Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan on May 20 called for “green development” in ASEAN, saying it should and must be a priority in economic restructuring plans of countries in Asia and the world.

Speaking at the first working session within the 16 th International Conference on the Future of Asia in Tokyo , Deputy PM Nhan said Asian economies need to create a model that ensures greener, more balanced and sustainable growth.

Vietnam has embarked on the process of gradually restructuring its economy towards decreasing the number of enterprises consuming huge amount of energy, natural resources and replacing them with enterprises that use energy efficiently and environmentally friendly technologies, Nhan said.

The country is also seeking clean, cost-effective energy sources and recycling energy to make its growth more sustainable, he said.

He also stressed on the need for exchanges of experiences and support of technology within regional countries, to narrow the green gap among nations.

The Deputy PM asked Japan to study establishment of an ASEAN-Japan green development promotion centre.

“ Vietnam is willing to discuss with Japan or the Republic of Korea to build those green development centres in the Hoa Lac hi-tech park in Hanoi and other cities in Vietnam ,” Nhan confirmed.

Concerning Vietnam ’s relations with Japan , the Deputy PM said, “for Vietnam , Japan has always been one of the most important economic partners.”

He expressed the hope that the Japanese government and enterprises will continue cooperation with Vietnam and help the country develop infrastructure and supporting industries.

“Through those cooperation with Vietnam , Japan will surely have grounds to strengthen their role and interests in the region,” Nhan said.

The Future of Asia conference is an annual regional economic meeting held by Japan ’s Nikkei daily. This year, the forum took the theme of “Towards an Open Economic Partnership: A New Foundation for Growth.”

Different from last year, this year’s event took place as the global economy’s recovery is pacing faster than expected in almost all regions in the world. Asia, especially Eastern Asia , is now impressively leading the world economic recovery.

Deputy PM Nhan, however, said the paces of recovery have not yet been the same for all countries and regions and neither are they sustainable. The world economy is still facing many imminent challenges including high public debt, budget deficits, inflation risks and unemployment.

He, therefore, called for more expanded and accelerated cooperation in trade and investment within ASEAN and increases of trade exchanges between the grouping and other Asian economies.

He also said the theme for the ASEAN this year, under the chairmanship of Vietnam , is “Towards the ASEAN community: From vision to action”. This, he said, reflects the stress Vietnam puts on practical actions, beside legal foundation that has been identified by ASEAN members, to realise its common goal of building a joint community by 2015./.